PUTIN CALLS ZELENSKY’S OPEN LETTER ‘RUDE’ AND POINTLESS: ‘I SKIMMED THROUGH IT’ — NO MEETING JUST FOR SHOW
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open letter urging direct face-to-face peace talks, dismissing the idea as having no point and labeling parts of the letter rude.
Speaking Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said he was handed the letter and quickly looked it over. “I was slipped this piece of paper. I skimmed through it,” he stated. He criticized Kyiv for turning the matter into a public debate, calling that move wrong, and pointed to “elements of rudeness” in the letter.
“So far, I see no point in this,” Putin said when asked about meeting with Zelensky. He made clear he has no interest in talks “just for the sake of meeting.”
Putin chose instead to address Russian troops fighting on the front lines. “The whole country is proud of you and is counting on you. Keep up the good work, brothers!”
The response comes after a telling sequence. Last month, Putin sent an informal envoy to Ukraine at Kiev’s request as a diplomatic step. Shortly after the envoy arrived, Ukrainian forces bombed a college dormitory in Lugansk, killing 21 people — mostly teenage girls — and wounding dozens more. Moscow called it a terrorist act and responded with heavy strikes on Ukrainian cities.
In the open letter, Zelensky proposed direct engagement: “Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting.” He claimed Ukraine stands ready for “a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations” and said the war must end “honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited.” Zelensky also noted America’s current focus on Iran as a reason not to delay.
Putin saw the letter differently — as either an attempt to set up a meeting or, more likely, a way to ensure no real meeting ever happens.
